Saturday, Geoff and I got to celebrate the 237th birthday of the United States Marine Corps by attending the Marine Corps Ball. If you know me, you know I love a good social function, so I had been planning my attire since August. I ordered a great dress (which arrived with holes in it, no less, but our wonderful housekeeper Vanja got rid of them with a nifty hemming job), and got some shiny open-toed shoes, a vintage gold clutch, and some vintage jewelry. Geoff promised to look sharp in his tux and service medals, and we booked the extra nice babysitter for Liam. It looked to be a fabulous evening. So of course I got violently ill.
Friday I woke up not feeling well. I managed to get Liam off to school, but then I came promptly home and proceeded to vomit the entire morning. I had to cancel my mani-pedi, and things got so bad, I even called Geoff at work to come home to take care of me. I have not felt that ill in a long, long time. I was grateful to have Geoff close by to be able to come quickly with 7-up and ginger ale, and I was even more grateful for his understanding boss for allowing Geoff to extend his lunch so he could pick up Liam and put him to bed for his nap. Mr. Mom even made homemade chicken soup for my dinner! What a guy!
Saturday arrived without any vomit, but I still felt queasy and so very tired. I had chicken soup for breakfast AND lunch before mustering the strength to get to my hair appointment. I figured that if I could make it to that, I could attend the ball that night. It was hard work, sitting up straight to get my hair done, so I knew the evening would be extra difficult, but I was determined. I did not want all our efforts to go to waste!
I pepped up a bit as we were getting ready, thank goodness, and as we were leaving for the evening, Liam took one look at us and said, "Halloween?" He kept repeating it over and over, and we just had to laugh. Goodness knows what we must look like in real life to him!
We arrived to a red carpet and a cocktail hour. All I wanted was a club soda or Sprite or the like, but I had to make do with strawberry juice as there wasn't much choice in the nonalcoholic area. We milled around and chatted before heading upstairs for the ceremony and dinner. There was an hour of Marine history in the form of speeches and videos, and then the ceremony of the cake. The cake is always cut with a sword, and the first piece is presented to the guest of honor (our Ambassador), and the second piece is presented to the oldest Marine there, who takes a bite then gives it to the youngest Marine there (who happened to be born in 1992, just to make you feel old!). After that, it was time for dinner. There were 2 salad courses, followed by a steak and chicken dish, then cake. I ate as best I could, but I just kept getting more and more tired, and the cigarette smoke wasn't helping my aching head. When the music got started, Geoff and I had a friend snap a couple of pictures before heading home. I quickly snatched all the bobby pins from my hair and climbed into bed around 10:30 p.m. The ball was scheduled to last until 2 a.m.! I don't think I could have made it that long if you had paid me!
It was a fun evening, and could have been a REALLY fun evening, but I was grateful to feel well enough to get to experience a little bit of it at least. Below are our photos.
The lovely couple
Full length shot
Our friend, Courtney (whose husband missed the ball due to training back in the States)
She's the one who keeps Bella when we travel!
Our friend, Anna
I love this one because I am the tall friend for once!
You can also see some of the background of the dinner/dancing room in this one.
